Polyatomic Aromatic Hydrocarbons also known as PAHs is a class of chemical that is produced by not completely burning Carbon fuel sources such as wood, gas and coal. When you are exposed to this chemical you are exposed to a different mixture of chemicals. PAHs can be found in water, air, soil and food. Foods that are smoked, charcoal-broiled and roasted commonly have PAHs in them. Plants such as wheat commonly contain PAHs because of the way it is dried. The PAHs in the air get in to the wheat and other plants that are dried in a similar fashion. Some of the many sources of airborne PAHs include vehicle exhaust, tobacco smoke, residential and industrial furnaces, wood burning and wildfires and more. The land around industrialized areas usually contains concentrated amounts of PAHs in the soil.
Synthesis/Production:
PAHs can be produced both naturally and artificially. Some of the natural producers are wild fire, volcanoes and decay of organic matter. On the other hand some of the artificial ways of producing PAHs included metal production such as iron and steel foundries, coal gasification and coke production are some of the main producers of PAHs. Some of the products that are made with some of the various PAHs are Dyes, plastics and pesticides. It is even used in some medicines according to the EPA.
Economic/Political Impact
If PAHs are unhealthy why hasn’t governments banned it? The real answer to that is that there is no real way to bane it. Since PAHs are released by not completely burning carbon matter it would be very hard to get rid of them. It would cause us to stop driving cars, burning wood to heat houses and stop using any kind fuels. To bane this would be unethical for a government. However putting restrictions on how much fossil fuel the population burns.
On top of that if an organized government were to bane PAHs, there would be very little alternatives to the fuels that we would be losing. We would no longer be driving cars that use gasoline or any kind of fuel sources that is used in cars in the general public. A country would have to put out billons of dollars looking for an affordable alterative fuel for the population to use. However on the brighter side of things the air would get cleaner and clearer because there would be less out put of air pollutants.
This would cause people of the general public to start walking. In turn this would lead to a healthier population. Also the government would not have to put out millions of dollars on air cleaning projects.
Health:
Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons are very unhealthy. Benzo[a]pyrene a PAH was tested on pregnant mice and shown that they had reproduction problems. Also the mice’s off spring were born with birth defects and a noticeable decrees in the baby mice weight. Some of the other effects on the mice include less active immune systems, damaged skin and less body fluid.
PAHs can be absorbed though a person’s skin, respiratory tract and gastrointestinal tract. When PAHs gets in to a persons body it can bind with their cells and simulate the Ah receptor. This also means there is an increase metabolism of the PAHs themselves.
The product can interact with a persons DNA and promote cancer. There have been reports that people in occupational settings that are exposed to a larger amount of PAHs than the general public have been diagnosed with many kinds of cancer including lung cancer. PAHs also may weaken a person’s immune system. This chemical may also cause pregnant women’s fetes problems during its growth.
A person can get tested for PAHs. The way they test a person’s body for PAHs is though their urine. They test the urine for the presence of PAHs. This test is useful for telling a person if he or she is being exposed to this chemical, however it does not inform someone of the damage being done. According to the Environmental Protection Agency also known as the EPA stated that there is a new test in production that will test for PAHs though a persons body tissue and blood
Environment:
PAHs are everywhere in the world today, sadly some of them are not environmentally friendly. One of these is the gas that a car releases when burning the gasoline inside the car. It has been proven that these gases affect our rain causing it to become acidic SO2 + H2O2 and O3 (in clouds) ---> H2SO4. Also it has been proven that it is a prime cause of the o-zone depletion, which is causing a spike in temperatures. This is more commonalty known as global warning.
That is not the only hazard of PAHs. Some of the PAHs that are released in to the air often get in to our food. As stated in the health section, these can promote cancer and other ailments. This harmful gas can also get in to the water supply and damage our fish and wild life along with ourselves.
Summary:
It is true that some of the things we as a people have discovered about PAHs are unnerving, however all PAHs have not been studied. People today do not have the technology to study single PAHs, because of this the next action is simple.
Scientists and engineers must put their minds together to create or invent a way to measure single PAHs. Till then we must try to burn less fuels and use less carbon containing resources to lower the output of the PAHs in to our world. This may cause a slow down in common day life however this plan of action would save humanity and the other living things of the world from a down fall of our own creation.
Polyatomic Aromatic Hydrocarbons also known as PAHs is a class of chemical that is produced by not completely burning Carbon fuel sources such as wood, gas and coal. When you are exposed to this chemical you are exposed to a different mixture of chemicals. PAHs can be found in water, air, soil and food. Foods that are smoked, charcoal-broiled and roasted commonly have PAHs in them. Plants such as wheat commonly contain PAHs because of the way it is dried. The PAHs in the air get in to the wheat and other plants that are dried in a similar fashion. Some of the many sources of airborne PAHs include vehicle exhaust, tobacco smoke, residential and industrial furnaces, wood burning and wildfires and more. The land around industrialized areas usually contains concentrated amounts of PAHs in the soil.
Synthesis/Production:
PAHs can be produced both naturally and artificially. Some of the natural producers are wild fire, volcanoes and decay of organic matter. On the other hand some of the artificial ways of producing PAHs included metal production such as iron and steel foundries, coal gasification and coke production are some of the main producers of PAHs. Some of the products that are made with some of the various PAHs are Dyes, plastics and pesticides. It is even used in some medicines according to the EPA.
Economic/Political Impact
If PAHs are unhealthy why hasn’t governments banned it? The real answer to that is that there is no real way to bane it. Since PAHs are released by not completely burning carbon matter it would be very hard to get rid of them. It would cause us to stop driving cars, burning wood to heat houses and stop using any kind fuels. To bane this would be unethical for a government. However putting restrictions on how much fossil fuel the population burns.
On top of that if an organized government were to bane PAHs, there would be very little alternatives to the fuels that we would be losing. We would no longer be driving cars that use gasoline or any kind of fuel sources that is used in cars in the general public. A country would have to put out billons of dollars looking for an affordable alterative fuel for the population to use. However on the brighter side of things the air would get cleaner and clearer because there would be less out put of air pollutants.
This would cause people of the general public to start walking. In turn this would lead to a healthier population. Also the government would not have to put out millions of dollars on air cleaning projects.
Health:
Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons are very unhealthy. Benzo[a]pyrene a PAH was tested on pregnant mice and shown that they had reproduction problems. Also the mice’s off spring were born with birth defects and a noticeable decrees in the baby mice weight. Some of the other effects on the mice include less active immune systems, damaged skin and less body fluid.
PAHs can be absorbed though a person’s skin, respiratory tract and gastrointestinal tract. When PAHs gets in to a persons body it can bind with their cells and simulate the Ah receptor. This also means there is an increase metabolism of the PAHs themselves.
The product can interact with a persons DNA and promote cancer. There have been reports that people in occupational settings that are exposed to a larger amount of PAHs than the general public have been diagnosed with many kinds of cancer including lung cancer. PAHs also may weaken a person’s immune system. This chemical may also cause pregnant women’s fetes problems during its growth.
A person can get tested for PAHs. The way they test a person’s body for PAHs is though their urine. They test the urine for the presence of PAHs. This test is useful for telling a person if he or she is being exposed to this chemical, however it does not inform someone of the damage being done. According to the Environmental Protection Agency also known as the EPA stated that there is a new test in production that will test for PAHs though a persons body tissue and blood
Environment:
PAHs are everywhere in the world today, sadly some of them are not environmentally friendly. One of these is the gas that a car releases when burning the gasoline inside the car. It has been proven that these gases affect our rain causing it to become acidic SO2 + H2O2 and O3 (in clouds) ---> H2SO4. Also it has been proven that it is a prime cause of the o-zone depletion, which is causing a spike in temperatures. This is more commonalty known as global warning.
That is not the only hazard of PAHs. Some of the PAHs that are released in to the air often get in to our food. As stated in the health section, these can promote cancer and other ailments. This harmful gas can also get in to the water supply and damage our fish and wild life along with ourselves.
Summary:
It is true that some of the things we as a people have discovered about PAHs are unnerving, however all PAHs have not been studied. People today do not have the technology to study single PAHs, because of this the next action is simple.
Scientists and engineers must put their minds together to create or invent a way to measure single PAHs. Till then we must try to burn less fuels and use less carbon containing resources to lower the output of the PAHs in to our world. This may cause a slow down in common day life however this plan of action would save humanity and the other living things of the world from a down fall of our own creation.